Mechanism for forming indentations in



March 22, 1955 ROSE ET AL MECHANISM FOR FORMING INDENTATIONS IN A MOVING ROD OF PLASTIC MATERIAL Filed May 20, 1952 FIGS.

Inventors;

A.G. ROSE. S CURT IS.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent MECHANISM FOR FORMING INDENTATIONS IN A MOVING ROD OF PLASTIC MATERIAL Alfred German Rose and Sidney Curtis, Gainsborough, England, assignors to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British company Application May 20, 1952, Serial No. 288,803 2 Claims. (Cl. 107-7) This invention releates to mechanism for forming indentations in a moving rod of plastic material, e. g., toffee or like confectionery, of substantially circular, elliptical or similar cross-section, and is particularly concerned with the forming of such indentations in a rod of toffee as it is fed towards to toffee cutting and wrapping machine, for the purpose of dividing the finished toffee into sections which can be broken off at will.

According to the invention, there is provided a mechanism of the above type, comprising three or more marking rollers arranged with their axes in a common plane and having their peripheral surfaces shaped to correspond with the cross-sectional shape of the rod, and arranged to approach each other so as to form an aperture for the passage of the rod, at least one marking knife protruding from the peripheral surface of each roller and arranged so as to move into register with the knives in the other rollers, and means for driving the rollers synchronously at the same peripheral speed. Preferably, four rollers are used each having a plurality of knives, and the knives are arranged with their cutting edges lying parallel to the axes of the rollers and terminating at the maximum diameter of the rollers.

The marking rollers may also serve as feed rollers for the rod, though generally it is preferred to provide separate or additional rollers for feeding and shaping the rod as it is delivered continuously from a rod-forming apparatus, the marking rollers then serving to urge the rod forward during the marking operation.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, as applied to a toffee-cutting and wrapping ma chine for producing wrapped tofi'ees of circular crosssection.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of part of such a machine,

Figure 2 is an end view of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1, as seen in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l, and

Figure 4 is an elevation of a detail of the apparatus.

Referring to Figure 1, a rod 11 of plastic toffee of circular cross-section is fed along a guide channel, indicated at 12, by a pair of feed rollers 13 towards a set of four marking rollers 14 which, in turn, urge the rod 11 towards a rotating knife 16 which severs the rod at intervals so as to leave severed lengths 17 in succession on a feed channel 18 leading to the wrapping elements of the wrapping machine. As soon as the lengths 17 are severed, they are fed in succession in known manner into successive pockets 19 of an intermittently rotatable pocket Wheel 21 of the machine by a reciprocating pusher 22. The invention is not specifically concerned with the action of the pusher 22 or the wrapping operations of the machine, and it is not necessary, therefore, to describe such parts of the machine herein.

The marking rollers 14, the feed rollers 13 and the pocket wheel 21 are synchronously driven intermittently so as to provide a rest period during which the rotating knife 16 passes through the rod 11. The rollers 14 have their peripheries shaped to correspond with the shape of the rod, and each is provided with a plurality of marking knives 23 protruding from the peripheral surface of the roller and terminating at the maximum diameter of the roller.

The marking rollers 14 are arranged with their axes in a common plane so that their shaped peripheries approach each other to form an aperture of a GIQ s-section corresponding to that desired in the finished toffees with the successive knives 23 protruding into the aperture so as to form indentations in the rod 11. It will be seen, therefore, that as the rod 11 passes through the aperture, the opposed knives 23 will bite into the rod to form a spaced series of indentations defining a plurality of sections, each series constituting a substantially continuous groove around the rod. After the formation of the indentations, the rod 11 is severed at intervals by the knife 16 across one of the series of indentations, thus producing the severed lengths mentioned above each having a plurality of sections neatly defined by the indentations.

The marking rollers 14 are freely mounted on corresponding shafts 24 secured in bearing members 26, the lower and centre rollers having their hearing members formed in a common supporting bracket 27 secured to the main frame-work 28 of the machine, while the bearing member 26 of the upper roller 14 is formed in a bracket 29 pivotally mounted at 31 in an extension 32 of the bracket 27 so as to be capable of swinging upwardly for threading or cleaning purposes.

The rollers 14 are driven from a common driving bevel 33 arranged in mesh with a bevel 34 secured to one of the rollers 14, i. e., the left hand roller in Figure 3, the bevel 34 driving a similar bevel 36 secured to the lower roller 14. A further bevel 37 secured to the latter roller engages a similar bevel 38 secured to the right hand roller, while another similar bevel 39 secured to the left hand roller drives a bevel 41 secured to the upper roller 14. The bevels 37, 38, 39 and 41 are each formed with annular flanges 42 resting in recesses of similar shape in the corresponding rollers 14 for the purpose of locking the knives 23 in position, the knives fitting in radial slots 43 and being formed with recesses through which the annular flanges 42 pass. As shown in Figure 4, all the bevels 34 to 41 are secured to the rollers 14 in a circumferentially adjustable manner by the provision of slots 44 through which the securing screws pass. Such adjustment provides for a final registration of the marking knives 23 in the event that manufacturing tolerances should cause any slight departure from registration when the various components contributing to the formation of the aperture are assembled.

What we claim is:

1. A mechanism for forming indentations in a moving rod of plastic material, comprising at least three marking rollers rotatably mounted for movement about axes in a common plane, shaped peripheral surfaces on the rollers together corresponding in cross-section with the cross-sectional shape of the rod, the rollers being disposed with opposed portions of their peripheral surfaces together defining between them in axial cross-section an aperture for the passage of the rod and being formed with radial slots at equal circumferential distances and with an annular recess passing through the slots in one face, a marking knife housed in each slot of each roller with its cutting edge lying parallel to the axis of its roller and terminating at the maximum diameter of the roller so as to protrude from the shaped surface of the roller, the knives being formed with recesses corresponding in shape and position with the annular recess in their roller, gearing arranged to drive the rollers at the same peripheral speed with their respective knives arranged on said rollers to move into register with the knives of the other rollers as they pass through the plane in which the aperture is defined, and annular locking members arranged in the annular recesses so as to pass through the recesses in the knives to secure them in position in the rollers.

2. Mechanism as in claim 1, wherein the annular locking members are each constituted by an annular flange on a gear attached to the respective roller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,093,380 Brach Apr. 14, 1914 1,494,263 McCoy May 13, 1924 1,615,198 Bendow Jan. 18, 1927 1,958,144 Hutchinson May 8, 1934 2,275,714 Anetsberger Mar. 10, 1942 2,561,231 Rose July 17, 1951 

